1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a vehicle body construction having a safety means for protecting passengers from injuries in vehicle collisions, and more particularly to a collision resistant construction for a door of a vehicle, which prevents a hinged side door from driving into the vehicle cabin upon a side vehicle collision.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When a motor vehicle is subjected to a side vehicle collision causing deformation of a side door thereof, the door thus deformed tends to be driven into the vehicle cabin, so that it sometimes happens that a passenger in the cabin is sandwiched between the driven door and any projection, such as a console box, mounted in the vehicle cabin, thus critically endangering the passenger's life. Hitherto, various solutions have been proposed for eliminating such problem. However, some of them lack functional reliability and are uneconomic.